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I am a professional, but we have been told for many years that we should become businesses, pushing any notion of a profession to a side and have customers not clients. Now we should be professionals again, and look after those less fortunate. Well some of us have done so without shouting about it for years, Mr Gove. BUT, we cannot be treated as a business (carried on with the aim of making a profit) if expected to lose a significant portion of our time. We need some buffer against those impinging upon legal work, who are out and out commercial operations.Eg: CO-OP.
Most of us in small practices work hours well beyond the European Working-time Directive as it is, just to keep going. We also believe we have clients not customers . Please listen SRA.
Finally, can we expect plumbers, electricians, M& S etc are to be forced into doing pro bono work or giving away goods!
It is a pity our elected representatives for the most part have never run businesses, particularly SMEs, done a job, employed several people, and had sleepless nights in the process.